Sifra 9.0.1

Acharei Mot, Section 1

1) (Vayikra 16:1) ("And the L–rd spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they drew near before the L–rd and they died,") "And the L–rd spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron": What is the intent of this ("two")? Because it is written (Vayikra 10:1) "And the sons of Aaron took, Nadav and Avihu, each his coal-pan" — "the sons of Aaron" — they did not seek counsel from Aaron; "Nadav and Avihu" — they did not seek counsel from Moses; "each his coal-pan" — each by himself; they did not take counsel from each other. Whence is it derived that just as the transgression of the two was identical, so the death of the two was identical? From "after the death of the two sons of Aaron."

2) "when they drew near before the L–rd and they died": R. Yossi Haglili says: They died because of the drawing near (and entering the holy of holies without permission), and not because of the incense offering. R. Akiva says: They died because of the offering and not because of the drawing near. One verse (our verse) states "when they drew near before the L–rd and they died," and another verse states (Vayikra 11:1) "and they offered before the L–rd a strange fire." The resolution (Bamidbar 3:4) "when they drew near (with) a strange fire before the L–rd" — They died because of the drawing near and not because of the offering. R. Elazar b. Azaryah says: The offering is sufficient (for death) unto itself, and the drawing near is sufficient unto itself.

3) (Vayikra 16:2) ("And the L–rd said to Moses: Speak to Aaron your brother, and let him not come at all times to the holy place within the curtain before the ark-cover which is on the ark, that he not die. For in the cloud I shall appear upon the ark cover.") "And the L–rd said to Moses: Speak to Aaron your brother, and let him not come at all times": — But we do not know what was said to him the first time (i.e., after 16:1 "And the L–rd spoke to Moses, etc.")! R. Elazar b. Azaryah was wont to say: To what may this be compared? To a patient who visited a doctor and was told by him: "Do not drink cold and do not lie in wet," after which a different doctor said to him: "Do not drink cold and do not lie in wet, so that you do not die as so and so died." The latter directive is the most effective. This is the thrust of "after the death of the two sons of Aaron… And the L–rd said to Moses: 'Speak to Aaron your brother and let him not come at all times,'"

4) for if he does come he will die, as his sons died, viz.: "and let him not come … that he not die" — If he comes, he will die!

5) It was said in the name of R. Yishmael: Since two dicta are mentioned here, one aside the other, ( 1) "And the L–rd spoke to Moses…" 2) "And the L–rd said to Moses…", one (i.e., the second) "open" (i.e., explained); the other, (the first) "closed" (i.e., unexplained), the "open" elucidates the closed, viz.: Just as the "open" speaks of Moses' telling Aaron not to enter the sanctuary, so, the "closed" speaks of Moses' telling Aaron not to enter the sanctuary. And in what connection is this mentioned? That of (abstaining from) wine and strong drink (before entering the sanctuary), viz. (Vayikra 10:6) "And let your brethren, the entire house of Israel, mourn the burning that the L–rd has burned… (Vayikra 10:8) And the L–rd spoke to Aaron, saying … Wine or strong drink you shall not drink, etc."

6) Aaron is constrained from coming (into the sanctuary), but Moses is not. — But perhaps (the meaning is that) Aaron is constrained from coming, but not his sons. R. Eliezer said: Would that follow? If one, (Aaron), who was commanded to come (into the holy of holies on Yom Kippur), was (here) commanded not to come, then one, (an ordinary Cohein), who was not commanded to come (on Yom Kippur), how much more so is he commanded (here) not to come! — No, this is refuted by the instance of those (Cohanim) without blemish, who are commanded to come to the tent of meeting, but are commanded not to come having drunk wine and strong drink;

7) but those who are blemished, who are not commanded to come, are not commanded not to come having drunk wine — here, too, (we would say that) the commanded (to come, i.e., Aaron) is commanded (not to come at all times, but not the sons, who are not commanded to come.) It is, therefore, written ("Speak to Aaron) your brother." Let "your brother" not be stated. Why is it stated? To include the sons.

8) "and let him not come": on Yom Kippur. "at all times": to include the other days of the year. R. Eliezer said: (Why is a verse necessary for this?) Does it not follow a fortiori? viz.: If he (the high-priest), on the day that he is commanded to come (i.e., on Yom Kippur), he is commanded not to come (on the other times of that day [i.e., those times not specified for sacred service]), then, on a day that he is not commanded to come (i.e., the other days of the year), how much more so is he commanded not to come (at all times)! — No, this is refuted by the instance of Yisrael, who are commanded to come on the festivals and who are commanded not to come empty-handed,

9) but on the other days of the year, when they are not commanded to come, they are not commanded not to come empty-handed — here, too, (we would say that) on a day that he is commanded, he is commanded, (but not when he is not commanded). It is, therefore, written "at all times," to include the other days of the year.

10) "within the curtain": This is the holy of holies; "to the holy place": This is the sanctuary. I might think that for all, the punishment is death. It is, therefore, written "before the ark cover which is on the ark, that he not die." How is this to be understood? "before the ark cover" is punishable by death; (if he enters) the other parts of the sanctuary, (he is in transgression of) an exhortation.

11) "before the ark cover (kaporeth) which is on the ark": What is the intent of this? Because it is written "kaporeth," I might think that (in addition to the kaporeth) there is a covering for the ark. It is, therefore, written "which is on the ark." The kaporeth is on the ark and there is no (other) cover on the ark.

12) I might think that there is no cover on the ark, but that some other material intervenes between the kaporeth and the (tablets of the) Testimony; it is, therefore, written (Vayikra 16:13) "and the cloud of incense shall cover the ark cover which is on the Testimony, and he shall not die" — nothing intervenes between the kaporeth and the Testimony.

13) "that he not die": This is the punishment. "for in a cloud I shall appear upon the ark cover": This is the exhortation. And R. Elazar said: I might think that both the punishment and the exhortation were stated before the death of the two sons of Aaron; it is, therefore, written "after the death of the two sons of Aaron." I might think that both were stated after the death of the sons of Aaron; it is, therefore, written "for in the cloud I shall appear upon the ark cover." How is this to be understood? The exhortation was stated before the death of the sons of Aaron, and the punishment was not stated until after their death.